Week in Review: Must Reads from Online

From the 8th annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards: Grand Prize handbag designed byJohn Edwards of Florian London who received the award for Best Handbag in Overall Style and Design and the InStyle.com, the Audience Fan Favorite

New York—Well it looks like Ron Johnson, the disgraced former chief executive at JCPenney, is no longer the retail industry’s biggest pariah.

That distinction is now resolutely held by soon-to-be ex CEO Dov Charney of American Apparel. Over the last decade, Charney has been the subject of rumor, innuendo and hard facts regarding sexually inappropriate conduct.

It is precisely that sleazy behavior that prompted the retailer’s board to fire Charney. His ouster “grew out of an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct. The board felt it was the right thing to do Dov Charney created American Apparel, but the company has grown much larger than any one individual and we are confident that its greatest days are still ahead.”

One has to wonder what took them so long. In addition to numerous lawsuits, 10 years ago Charney actually had an employee come in and perform oral sex on him during an interview with Jane reporter Claudine Ko. “Apparently that wasn’t weird enough to satisfy him, so he later masturbated in front of her while she tried to interview him.”

Reports are his conduct with young women has become legendary.

Another faction not sorry to see Charney depart? Wall Street, where analysts greeted the news of his departure with glee, sending the price of the company’s shares up.

Charney isn’t the only retail store this week about being naughty. A New York judge ruled this week that JCPenney did indeed interfere with Macy’s exclusive arrangement with Martha Stewart.